SA succumb to Sachin's double ton
by Ken Borland 24 February 2010, 18:26
South Africa's batsmen proved no match for Sachin Tendulkar's sheer brilliance as they succumbed to India by 153 runs in the second one-day international in Gwalior on Wednesday.
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After Tendulkar's phenomenal 200 not out off 147 balls - the first double hundred in ODI history - chasing 402 was always going to be a near-impossible task for South Africa.
And almost all hope was gone when Herschelle Gibbs, who spearheaded the legendary 435 chase, was bowled by Praveen Kumar for seven in the third over, trying for the paddle sweep when his famous lofted drive over extra cover was a much better option.
The South African brains-trust then added to the sense of freneticism and perhaps even panic by sending Roelof van der Merwe in. Hashim Amla was showing the right approach at the other end, collecting seven classic boundaries in his 34 off 22 balls, playing normal cricket shots.
But the pinch-hitter was rushing down the wicket and swinging to leg and it was not long before Van der Merwe (12) sliced one of these agricultural heaves to cover off Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.
Amla was the next to go which was a major pity because he was looking in prime form and could have made the match interesting if he had gone the distance. Amla pulled at Sreesanth from outside off stump but only got the bottom portion of the bat to the ball and presented mid-on with an easy catch.
The rock of the top-order was then removed in the 11th over as Jacques Kallis (11) dragged the left-arm seam of Ashish Nehra back into his stumps.
South Africa were 83 for four and obviously in dire straits and the situation officially crossed the line to hopeless when the spinners removed Alviro Petersen (nine) and JP Duminy (nought) cheaply.
Petersen fell to the impressive young left-armer Ravindra Jadeja, misjudging the speed of a shortish delivery, going on the pull and being bowled.
Duminy fell to another first-baller and once again thrust his front foot down the line of off-stump to an off-spinner (Yusuf Pathan) darting the ball straight on, with his bat outside the line of the ball. The talented young left-hander's confidence has surely been ripped to shreds this season.
The one South African batsman who did step up to the plate was AB de Villiers, who picked up his fifth ODI century and finished with an excellent 114 not out in 101 balls. As usual, there was plenty of inspiring strokeplay by De Villiers, who stroked 13 fours and two sixes scoring almost exclusively in front of the wicket, his driving through the covers being particularly memorable.
Mark Boucher (14) was trapped in front sweeping at Yusuf, but Wayne Parnell continued to deliver on the promise he showed with the bat in his teen years as he helped De Villiers add 77 for the eighth wicket.
But by then South Africa were dead and buried and whether De Villiers could reach his century was all that was keeping their interest alive. Pacemen Nehra and Sreesanth returned to bowl Parnell (18) and Dale Steyn (nought) respectively and De Villiers was still five runs short when last man Charl Langeveldt, with his left eye almost closed due to the blow he took in the field, came to the crease.
The gutsy Langeveldt showed tremendous bravado in not only ushering De Villiers to three figures but also lashing three fours in scoring 12 before falling to Jadeja.
SACHIN MAKES HISTORY
Earlier, the cricketing world paid homage to Tendulkarafter his unbeaten double-century took India to 401 for three.
Largely poor South African bowling, a flat pitch and a small ground with a fast outfield combined for Tendulkar to become the first man to reach 200 in an ODI and his phenomenal innings was a treat never-to-be forgotten by the capacity crowd at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium and the millions watching on TV.
Tendulkar, who finished with 200 not out off 147 balls, and his captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, combined for an unbeaten partnership of 101 off 54 balls that finished off the innings in brutal, clinical fashion.
The foundation of the Indian run-splurge was laid by Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik in a second-wicket stand of 194 off 177 balls, after the early loss of Virender Sehwag.
Sehwag scored nine before he was caught at third man, a specific attacking position South Africa use against him, off Parnell.
Langeveldt (deep cut to eyebrow) and Duminy (split webbing) were both forced off the field in the early stages of the innings, meaning Kallis had to make some tough calls in terms of his bowling changes.
New-ball bowlers Steyn and Parnell were both guilty of bowling inconsistent lines and lengths and Tendulkar then played left-arm spinner Van der Merwe superbly, time and again getting outside the leg-stump line and hitting him through the covers.
The fifty partnership between Tendulkar and Karthik was up in just 38 balls and the Little Master's individual half-century came off just 37 deliveries with nine fours, many of them drives square of the wicket of the highest quality.
Karthik ensured the rampant Tendulkar received plenty of the strike but still cruised to his 50 off 59 balls and then upped the pace to score 79 off 85 before Parnell had him caught at short midwicket off a mistimed pull. Gibbs, the catcher, had to be sharp to complete the dismissal.
Tendulkar had, by then, already notched the 46th century of his ODI career, off just 90 balls and was obviously the object of focus. He was 124 not out in the 34th over when Karthik fell and talk of the first double hundred had already begun. The hunger of the man for runs is quite remarkable, given that he has been playing at the highest level for 20 years and has nothing left to prove. And the pressure exerted on him by the worshipping Indian public is immense.
India then decided to send in the brawn of Yusuf Pathan and the Rajasthan strongman blasted 36 off 23 balls as 63 runs came in the batting powerplay. Some of the strokes Tendulkar played were also worthy of the best Pro20 players and the bowlers were put to the sword in a stand of 81 off 47 deliveries.
Van der Merwe was the one man who restricted India to any extent in that period, his last four overs costing 24 runs and including the wicket of Yusuf.
After belting four fours and two sixes straight and to leg, Yusuf went rather tamely, prodding a low full toss from Van der Merwe to deep extra cover.
Tendulkar was on 168 not out and the Gwalior crowd still had plenty to yell about as he closed in on history, despite a debilitating attack of cramp. Dhoni's top-class hitting was also a source of much excitement and the Indian captain's 68 not out off 35 balls was a spectacular innings in its own right.
No one could stem the flow of runs in the closing overs, and the ball had plenty of air time as Dhoni hit four sixes and Tendulkar three.
Tendulkar reached the historic 200 mark in the final over, steering Langeveldt behind point for a single, and finished with 25 fours.
Amongst the bowlers, Parnell netted two wickets but leaked 95 runs in his 10 overs, while Steyn was fast and furious but all over the place as he went for 89 in 10 wicketless overs.
On a day all the bowlers were slaughtered, Van der Merwe (10-0-62-1) and the gutsy Langeveldt, who bowled well at the death to finish with none for 70 in 10 overs, had the best figures.
Teams
India - Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.
South Africa - Hashim Amla, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis (capt), AB de Villiers, Alviro Petersen, JP Duminy, Mark Boucher (wk), Roelof van der Merwe, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn, Charl Langeveldt.